A sustained reduction in waste

What we're doing

Below are the latest actions from the February 2022 Climate Action Update.

Investing in our assets

• Operating communal Food Organics and Garden Organics and Glass recycling hubs, expanding to 16 locations in 2023
• Converting the Elwood Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) trial to an ongoing service

Working with our community and partners

• Evaluating and revising the Don’t Waste It! Waste Management Strategy 2018-28 to guide and inform Council’s future actions and targets
• Continuing to partner with others to divert waste from landfill at South Melbourne Market, including green waste collected by the Vermicompost Worm Farm Project and oyster, mussel and scallop shells recycled in a partnership with The Nature Conservancy.

Changing how we deliver our services

• Planning for Victoria’s four-service waste and recycling model under the Victorian Government’s Recycling Victoria policy. The new system will standardise accepted items for each recycling stream and bin lid colours across the state. As part of this, we’re planning to roll out communal glass recycling hubs and a FOGO service (combination of kerbside bins and communal hubs) across the City in 2023.
• Increasing data collection and audits to evaluate waste diverted from landfill, volumes of recycled materials and contamination rates. The 2020-21 Recycling Reset program demonstrated a 25 per cent reduction in kerbside recycling contamination rates over the six-month campaign.
• Solar bins that reduce waste by compacting it are one of the many waste and recycling initiatives at the South Melbourne Market.

What we've done

Recent examples of how we're fostering a sustained reduction in waste in Port Phillip:

• Through our communal food organics hubs and kerbside food and garden organics service, we have diverted 1,140 tonnes of food and garden organic materials from landfill between September 2021 and March 2023.
• The South Melbourne Market has partnered with The Nature Conservancy to recycle oyster, mussel and scallop shells generated by retailers and patrons. The Nature Conservancy uses the shells to restore marine environments affected by dredging, including Port Phillip Bay.
• Since November 2017, the St Kilda Repair cafe has been tackling our throwaway culture by providing a free repair service to the Port Phillip community.